“WHAT’S with that smile?”
Pagkaupung-pagkaupo pa lang ni Ace sa kanyang swivel chair ay iyon agad ang tanong sa kanya ni Agustin. Pahagis pa niyang inilapag ang blazer doon sa couch sa hindi kalayuan. Agustin is his best buddy since college kaya alam nito ang lahat ng kalokohan niya.
“Babae na naman ‘yan, ano?” napapailing nitong tanong. Iniabot nito sa kanya ang mga papeles na kanina pa naghihintay sa kanya doon sa opisina. Aside from being his best friend, Agustin is also his assistant. In everything – sa trabaho, at kahit na sa personal na mga pangangailangan. He’s shorter, fairer. Sa tingin nga niya ay bihira itong lumabas ng bahay at magpaaraw sa sobrang puti nito.
“Remember the girl that I’ve been telling you about? The singer?”
Tumangu-tango ito. “’Yung sobrang ganda at sobrang sexy at sobra-sobra na sa lahat ng bagay? Of course, I remember. Oh, what about her?”
“Nakita ko uli siya.”
“And?”
“And…nakita ko uli siya.” Tumingala si Ace para tingnan ang kaibigan.
“That’s it? Ganyan kalaki ang ngiti mo, sir dahil lang sa nakita mo uli siya?” Malakas na tawa ang pinakawalan nito bago naupo. “Akala ko naman naiuwi mo na sa condo mo kaya ka nagkakaganyan.”
“Well, we’ll get there.” He smiled and shook his head. Agustin knew him too well, alright.
“Wait, wait. Isn’t that the singer the one you’ve been dating already? Ano nga ba ang pangalan no’n?”
“This is different. In all aspects, Agustin. In all aspects.” Again, he shook his head while looking at the papers on the table.
Ito naman ang napailing. “Hindi ka pa rin talaga nagbabago. Ano na lang ang sasabihin ng Dad mo kapag nalaman na-“
“Shh, he’s not gonna know, you hear me?”
Nagkibit-balikat si Agustin, dahil wala naman itong pagpipilian.
Ace has promised his Dad that he’d do better in the publishing, kapalit ng lahat ng luho na hiningi niya mula rito – ang magarang kotse, ang penthouse na tinutuluyan niya ngayon, ang unlimited allowance at kung anu-ano pa. Sa totoo lang, hindi niya nararamdaman na trabaho ang lahat ng iyon, aside from the paper works, which seemed never ending.
Alam niyang isa siyang malaking failure para sa kanyang ama, na kinikilalang isa sa matagumpay na negosyante sa bansa. He wanted to be like him, really – he just didn’t know how to start – and yeah, he never liked the idea of being confined inside the office, 24/7.
That’s how his father achieved success. Araw-gabi, trabaho. Kaya nga siguro sila iniwan ng kanyang ina noong bata pa siya, dahil walang oras ang kanyang ama para sa pamilya. Hindi niya iyon naiintindihan noon, pero ngayong nararanasan na rin niya ang stress at pressure ng pagkakaroon ng trabahong tulad ng meron siya ngayon, alam na niya ang sakripisyong ginawa ng ama para sa kanila. He could do whatever he wanted, go wherever he wished, buy anything he fancies – all because his father’s hard work.
Ace is a lucky man, that’s what everybody says. But deep inside, Ace is a broken man, who’s always looking for something, for someone who can fill that empty space inside him.
“By the way, the other singer, the one you’ve been dating, tumawag siya kanina, asking for your schedule.”
“Who?” Kumunot ang noo ni Ace.
Saglit itong nag-isip. “Hindi binigay ang pangalan but she said – oh wait, she ‘ordered’ me to tell you that you need to see her. Soon.”
Si Ace naman ang saglit na nag-isip. He couldn’t even think of any name because if there’s one name that’s been inside his head, it’s Sarah.
“Here, she gave me her address. Kapag hindi mo raw siya pinuntahan, siya ang pupunta sa ‘yo.”
And that’s going to be a huge problem. Napapailing niyang kinuha ang iniabot na maliit na papel ni Agustin.
See you this weekend at 8PM, babe. Same place.
Ah, that girl, naisip ni Ace. Yeah, he couldn’t remember her name, but he wouldn’t forget her angelic face, especially the sound she makes and the look on her face when she’s about to come. She’s one hot woman, that he remembers.
Ace has met lots of women. Hindi iyon dahil sa gusto niya, kundi dahil sa nature ng kanyang trabaho. Mahirap lumayo sa tukso ang isang tulad niyang photographer at publisher. Women are everywhere – and not just the typical kind – mga modelo, artista, mga gustong magmodelo at mag-artista. At lalaki lang siya kaya hirap siyang iwasan ang mga ganoong klaseng biyaya.
His dad always tells him that women shouldn’t be trusted. That they’ll just use him and leave him in the end. Lalo na raw sa isang tulad niyang mayaman at may itsura. Para siyang isang buffet ng pagkain, maraming darating hangga’t hindi nauubos. He’s got the looks, and the money but his dad keeps on reminding him that everything could disappear in a snap of a finger. He should make smart choices, and right decisions – and sleeping with different women is definitely not part of it.
Pero ano’ng magagawa niya? He’s 23, at the peak of his career, single. Ano ba ang gustong mangyari ng kanyang ama sa kanya? Ang magkulong sa opisina at maghapong makipagtitigan sa mga papeles na naroon?
Napapailing na tinipon ni Ace ang mga nakakalat na mga dokumento sa kanyang mesa. It’s almost 5PM and he’s still in his goddamn office. Maging si Agustin ay nauna nang umuwi dahil may date pa raw ito. Hindi niya mapigilang matawa sa sarili. Kailan nga ba ang huling pagkakataon na nakipag-date siya, ‘yung totoong date?
Si Erica, the American commercial model. She was beautiful, sexy, fun. Halos isang taon rin yata ang itinagal ng relationship nila bago nito kinailangang bumalik ng States. Ang huling balita niya ay malapit na itong ikasal. That was almost two years ago.
Ah, si Melissa. The junior executive. Maganda, mayaman. Kasing-edad niya ito, at tulad rin niya, galing sa kilalang pamilya. His Dad actually approved of her kaya siguro mas naging madali para sa kanya ang lahat. Pero ganoon siguro talaga, ang lahat may katapusan. After a few months, they were over.
And this…Kayla. No, Coreen…Carlene…Charlene - whatever her name was – hindi rin niya masasabing ‘totoong date’ iyon. Siguro, fling. An affair. Nothing more, nothing less. Nag-e-enjoy siya tuwing kasama niya ito pero hanggang doon lang. He couldn’t see himself settling down with a woman like her. She’s rich, yes. She’s beautiful, no doubt. She’s smart, yeah, sure. Ano nga ba ang kulang?
Ah, the thing they call ‘spark’, ‘magic’.